Harris County judge forced to resign after filing for higher office

The Harris County attorney’s office was notified in March that Judge Bill McLeod, a Democrat presiding over Harris County Court at Law No. 4, had filed a transfer of campaign treasurer appointment with the Texas Ethics Commission stating he was seeking the office of chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Photo: Jill Karnicki, Staff photographer

A Harris County civil court judge’s ambition for higher office unexpectedly forced him to resign after fewer than three months on the bench, thanks to an obscure provision in the state constitution.

The Harris County attorney’s office was notified in March that Judge Bill McLeod, a Democrat presiding over Harris County Court at Law No. 4, had filed a transfer of campaign treasurer appointment with the Texas Ethics Commission stating he was seeking the office of chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Unbeknownst to McLeod, this filing triggered Article 16, Section 65 of the Texas Constitution which considers such an announcement by anyone holding a county judicial post an automatic resignation.

“This is insane,” McLeod said Wednesday. “All of the judges are going, ‘You did what? How? We didn’t even know (the constitutional provision) existed.’”

McLeod, who was elected in November, hopes that a different provision of the constitution will help rectify his mistake. Article 16, Section 17 states that a county Commissioners Court is not required to appoint a successor after a county officer resigns, and “may allow the officeholder who resigned…to remain in office” as a holdover. If this happens, McLeod would have to run again in 2020 even though he was elected to a four-year term.

Despite having been elected by a 10-point margin with over 640,000 votes, McLeod said he would accept a shortened term — “It’s kind of, like, my punishment,” he said — if it allowed him to ultimately keep his seat on the bench.

McLeod said he had made no secret of his intention to eventually run for higher office after he accomplished his goals in Harris County. Already, McLeod eagerly touts his accomplishments in his first 90 days of office, which include clearing a backlogged docket of 1,400 cases.

“It’s about potentially wanting to reach out to the rest of the state of Texas because if I could clean this (court) up within two years, that was my intention,” McLeod said.

In the meantime, according to the Harris County attorney’s office, McLeod may sit on the bench and issue rulings until commissioners decide to grant him holdover status or appoint a a successor.

“All actions he has taken during that time period and up until Commissioners Court chooses to appoint a successor are valid; there’s no doubt about that,” said Robert Soard, the first assistant Harris County attorney.

McLeod is not the first judicial officer to fall victim to this provision. In 2013, Irene Rios, then a Bexar County (San Antonio) court-at-law judge, told county commissioners she intended to run for chief justice of the 4th Court of Appeals, triggering her automatic resignation. Rios remained in her seat for four weeks after her announcement before tendering her letter of resignation, and she continued to make legal rulings during that time.

A 1999 amendment to the Texas Supreme Court judicial code of conduct further affirms that judges can continue to hold judicial office while being a candidate for another judicial office.

And while McLeod supporters acknowledge that the judicial code of conduct does not override the state constitution, they don’t believe it’s grounds to overturn the will of the hundreds of thousands of Harris County residents who voted him into office. Every judicial position on the Harris County ballot in 2018 was won by a Democrat.

“We need judges like him who really want to make a difference and who take their job seriously,” said Karen Taylor, an attorney and McLeod supporter. “These are not the judges we need to be getting rid of because they ran afoul of some ‘gotcha’ statute that no one really understands.”

The decision on McLeod’s fate will be made by a Harris County Commissioners Court that has a Democratic majority for the first time in decades.

Rodney Ellis, a Democratic commissioner, was noncommittal on McLeod’s future, stating: “I firmly believe that any action taken by Commissioners Court on this matter must uphold the Texas Constitution above all else and that principle is what will ultimately guide my decision on Tuesday.”

Commissioner Adrian Garcia and a spokeswoman for County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the two other Democrats on the court, did not respond to requests for comment.

Republican Commissioner Steve Radack said he would not be receptive to appointing a holdover for a judicial post.

“If he’s resigned then how can you justify having him as a holdover?” Radack said. “That’s certainly not the spirit of the law.”

McLeod said he has not spoken with any of the commissioners about his predicament.

“That’s not the will of the people, that’s the will of three people on the county commissioner’s court,” McLeod said. “And they are my friends in the sense that they’re colleagues and Democrats, but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna vote for me.”